Star Trek: The Sacrifice
by SuperluminalM42
Summary: After a shuttle accident. Lt. Ahida Uhura gives her life to save two crewmates.


"Hey, Hidi," Ensign Yohonatov called out, "I've found another one."

"Great." Ahida Uhura, daughter of Spock and Uhura responded. "That's enough. Pack it away. Let's get back to the shuttle, I'd like to get to the rendezvous with Excelsior a little early."

"Fine with me." Tashaun, the guard watching over the science team said. "I'm an Andorian, not a Vulcan. This place is way too hot for me."

"Well, I'm Vulcan, not Andorian. This would be a nice spring day on Vulcan."

"Well I'm an engineer, not security." Tashaun replied. "I only volunteered for this, because engineers almost never get off the ship to explore. Of the three planets we're surveying, they send me to the hottest one."

As the trio walked towards the shuttle, Ahida noticed Yohanatov smiling.

"Tasha, what are you smiling about?" Ahida ask.

"Have you noticed, ever since we got Leonard McCoy's autobiography, over subspace, how often you hear someone remark: I'm this, not that?"

"The good Doctor has a colorful way of speaking. He was often imitated. And to be honest, in his autobiography, he uses a bit too much hyperbole."

"That must have been exciting growing up on the Enterprise during it's five year mission."

"I was two when the mission ended. I didn't exactly grow up on the Enterprise. Being Vulcan, I retain many memories. It was interesting, to say the least."

The trio arrived and climbed aboard the shuttle. Once the sample containers and other gear had been stowed away. Ahida and Tashaun took their places in the front seats and began powering up the engines. A moment later the small craft lifted off and was streaking out of the atmosphere.

"I'm a science officer, not a pilot. But I do love flying." Ahida said.

Once the shuttle cleared the atmosphere and broke orbit, Ahida activated communications.

"Excelsior this is shuttle Choctaw, come in please."

"Choctaw, this is Excelsior. Go ahead." The ships communications officer responded.

"We've just departed planet T-7, ETA to rendezvous thirty three minutes."

"We'll be waiting for you."

"Just have something good to eat. I think I can speak for my team. We are tired of Starfleet field rations. We've been out here five days, they got old fast."

"Gotcha. We'll have a gourmet meal ready."

"Thank you. Choctaw out." Ahida switched off the com. "Engage at warp one."

There was a loud bang in the aft section of the cabin. Main power failed and emergency lights popped on. Smoke and flames shot out of a control panel. The shuttle drifted off course. Artificial gravity was out. Tashaun unbuckled, grabbed a fire extinguisher and floated over Tasha's head.

Tashaun was able to quickly extinguish the fire. He then opened a compartment on the port bulkhead and retrieved a maintenance tricorder and began to scan to determine the severity of the problem.

"Report." Ahida called out from the front of the cabin.

"The EPS main conduit control unit to the starboard nachell exploded. I might be able to restore main power in a couple of hours. Warp and impulse relalys are fried." He adjusted the tricorder to find the source of a faint whistling noise. "We have a bigger problem. The seal along the starboard lateral connection member has ruptured. We're venting our atmosphere into space. We only have a few minutes of breathable air."

"Ahida!" Tasha said, panic in her voice. "What are we going to do?"

Ahida unbuckled and floated past Tasha. "Remember, we have our personal EV suits."

"Will they last long enough?"

"Yes." Ahida checked a small panel that was still receiving emergency power. "Our transponder is still functional. Excelsior is expecting us at the rendezvous in thirty minutes. When they realize we're late, Sulu will come looking for us. At warp five, Excelsior will be here in minutes."

Ahida opened a storage closet in the aft section. She pulled out Tashauns EV suit and passed it over to him. Then she set her suit aside and pulled Tasha's out.

"No!" She exclaimed. The explosion had ripped through the rear of the closet. The suit was hopelessly shredded.

"Oh no!" Tasha gasped.

"Here. Take mine." Ahida shoved her suit into Tasha's arms.

"Ahida, no."

"Put it on. That's an order."

"Lieutenant, take mine." Tashaun said.

"No! It is logical." Ahida said, sounding more like Spock than she had ever sounded. "I command this mission. Your lives are my responsibility. Excelsior can afford to lose a science officer. But an engineer would be irreplaceable."

"Ahida," Tasha said, "I won't..." Ahida grabbed her at the base of the neck and squeezed just enough to get her point across.

"Put...it...on. That is an order." She released her grip and Tasha reluctantly began to don the suit. Ahida opened another locker and brought out a heavy arctic parka.

"That's not much protection." Tashaun said.

"No, but there is the possibility that if the Navajo and Caddo arrive early at the rendezvous. Sulu may come this way and meet us half way."

"That's a big if." Tasha said, as she closed the face plate on her EV helmet.

Moments later, Tasha and Tashaun were strapped in the shuttle's front seats, Ahida, the parka wrapped tightly around her, sat behind them. There was a long moment of silence. Then Tasha spoke.

"Hidi, talk to us."

"That would be pointless."

Tashaun was watching a pressure and temperture gauge. Air pressure was dropping and the temperature was almost too low for an Andorian.

"Hidi, you have to talk. You've told me about Sarek and Amanda. What about your African side?"

"I seldom see them. I'm the only alien in the family. I always sensed I made them uncomfortable. But," Ahida gasped, "you can see Kili...Manjaro from my... Grandfather's house. He...a hund...red and four and still hikes it.". There were several loud gasps.

"Hidi, that's great. When you get back to Earth you can go hiking with him."

"No, never...Earth...ag...augh...augh."

"Hidi? Hidi?" Tasha tried to turn but Tashaun put a hand up and stopped her.

"Don't look. She's gone."

"No...Hidi...noooo."

Through the helmets visor, Tashaun could see tears floating in Tasha's helmet. He squeezed her hand.

"All we can do for her now, is honor her with the life she gave us."

Excelsior's Captain hated performance and security reports. This long deep space mission was beginning to take it's toll on his crew. First Officer Tuvoks voice came over Sulu's intercom.

"Bridge to Captain Sulu."

"Sulu here."

"Captain, shuttle Navajo has been secured in the hanger bay. Caddo is on final approach and will be secured in moments. However, Choctaw is overdue and not answering hails."

"Acknowledged, I'm on my way to the bridge."

When Sulu stepped on the bridge he paused at communications.

"Choctaw, this is Excelsior, please respond...Choctaw, this is Excelsior, come in please." The Communications Officer looked up and shook his head. "No response yet. We are picking up their transponder."

"Tuvok, anything?" Sulu asked.

Without taking his eyes off his instruments Tuvok replied, "Nothing on long range sensors."

Sulu pressed the intercom. "Hanger bay, status of Caddo?"

"Sir she has just touched down, bay doors are closing."

"Helm," he said as he took his place in the Captains chair, "lay in a course for planet T-7, warp eight."

"Warp eight, aye sir."

Two minutes later Tuvok announced, "I have the shuttle on long range sensors. It is adrift, propulsion system is off line as well as main power and life support."

"Life signs?" Sulu asked.

"Indeterm...no wait. Two very faint."

"Transporter range?"

"Two minutes twenty seven seconds."

"Alert sickbay." Sulu ordered as he sprang from the command chair. "I'll be in the transporter room."

As Sulu raced down the corridor, he couldn't help but think, I shouldn't feel this way, but if I've lost a member of my crew, don't let it be Ahida.

Sulu, Doctor Phalaun, Excelsior's Denebulan chief surgeon, a nurse and medic arrived in the transporter room at the same time.

"Chief Kyle," Sulu said as he came through the door, "transporter range?"

"One minute fifteen seconds."

It was the longest minute and fifteen seconds in Sulu's life. He felt his ship as it, finally, dropped from warp.

"Two life signs." Kyle said. "Energizing."

Sulu stepped in front of the transporter pad and watched as two humanoid figures began to take form. One, tall and bulky, Sulu knew immediately it was the Andorian engineer. Ahida and Tasha were nearly the same size, he had to wait another agonizing moment. He felt a bit of relief as the rank insignia and Ahida's name plate became visible.

There was a hiss as she reached up and disconnected her helmet and lifted it off.

"Ahida?" Sulu asked. Then he saw the face. "Yohanatov?"

"My suit was damaged. She made me take hers. Sir, I... I'm so sorry."

She took a step forwards and stumbled. Tashaun caught her. Dr. Phalaun rushed up and examined her. She turned to the nurse.

"She's in shock. Get her to sickbay, stat. You too Tashaun, I wanna give both of you a good once over."

Once they left, Phalaun turned to the Captain. "Sir, you have my deepest condolences and of course you Chief Kyle, you were both on the Enterprise?"

"Yes. We both knew her all her life. Captain, I have a lock on her. Do want me to...beam her over?"

In a barely audible whisper, Sulu replied, "Of course."

After she materialized, the three stood silently. Finally, Phalaun, with an unpleasant, but official duty to perform, stepped up on the transporter pad and knelt by Ahida's lifeless body.

She pulled the parkas hood from around her face. Frozen green blood from burst capillaries, stained her lips and eyelids. Otherwise her face was calm and serene. There was no need to do it, but she ran her medical tricorder over Ahida's body. Something wasn't right. She made an adjustment and ran the scan two more times.

"Hikaru, she's..."

"Dead, I know."

"No, she's alive. Barely. Sickbay, fast."

For the next hour and a half, Sulu paced back and forth in his ready room. Sometimes he sat at his desk and looked at old pictures. Or just looked out the window.

Doctor Phalaun didn't seem to hold out much hope. She wasn't really dead, but she wasn't really alive either.

"Can today be any more cruel?" He asked his reflection.

Finally Dr. Phalaun's voice came over the intercom. "Captain Sulu, can you come to sickbay, please."

Her tone of voice, gave Sulu little cause for hope.

He was surprised to find a stasis tube sitting in the middle of sickbay. Through the tube's window, Ahida's face had been cleaned and she looked as if she were asleep. Dr. Phalaun looked up from the tube's control panel.

"She suffered extreme internal injuries. There's nothing more I can do here. When we reach Starfleet Medical, or perhaps a starbase. Maybe. Until then, I can keep her in stasis indefinitely."

"God's," Sulu said, "that's nearly two years."

Ensign Tashaun and Yohanatov sat across from Sulu's desk.

"Ensign Tashaun," he said. I've read the Chief Engineers report on the Choctaw. The damage was extensive, there was nothing you could have done. There is no blame on you."

"Yes sir." The Andorian acknowledged.

"Ensign Yohanatov, I've been told you're still having a hard time dealing with this."

"Sir, I should never have taken her EV Suit. I should have..."

Sulu held up a hand to silence her.

"Tasha, she was in command and she was responsible for your lives. I support her decision 100%. All we can do is wait till we reach Federation space and pray something can be done for her. Until then, we must honor her sacrifice."


End file.
